Friday, December 09, 2005
Research Team Develops Core Technologies For Re RAM

A Korean research team headed by Prof. Hwang Hyeon-sang at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology has developed core technologies for resistance random access memory, or Re RAM, which is emerging as a candidate for next-generation memory.

The research team of the Next-generation Non-volatile Memory Development Program organized by the Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy introduced its new source technologies for Re RAM at the International Electron Devices Meeting held on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

Being one of post flash memories, Re RAM can exceed the limit of speed and capacity of flash memories, present mainstream non-volatile memory. Adopting the new technology, one can move up the time of commercializing of the Re RAM by two or three years, according to experts.

Source technologies developed by the team include a core material featuring characters of storing data, a single crystal SrTiO3, and surface processing technology that can retain characters of the material.

"We have developed core technologies for Re RAM and verified them. It is significant that we have confirmed possibility of commercializing Re RAMs," said Prof. Hwang.

The research team said a cell processed, employing the material and technology it developed, could retain stored data intact for more than 10 years, while writing and erasing data for as many as 10 million times.

"IBM, Sharp and Samsung Electronics are toiling on development of similar technologies, but none of them has reportedly succeeded in it yet. We anticipate that our development of a core material and processing technology for Re RAMs will advance the timing of commercializing terabit large capacity next-generation memory by at least two or three years," said a member of the research team.